Wooden Award Odds

There are 4,732 scholarship basketball players at the nation’s 364 Division I schools this season. And yet, the competition for the best player among them has essentially been narrowed to only 2. Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Auburn’s Johni Broome have lapped the field by such a wide margin that they’re the only ones currently being given odds for the award by DraftKings sportsbook. 

For good reason.

Flagg and Broome are the best players on the nation’s best teams.

Wooden Award Favorites

Only 2 players have odds, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

If you want to wager on who wins the Wooden Award, or any March Madness outcomes, check out these great promotions.

Comparing Cooper Flagg vs Johni Broome

Although they have different backgrounds and playing styles, their performances on the court have been remarkably similar. 

Even their head-to-head matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Dec. 5 was a virtual dead heat.

Flagg finished the game with 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in leading his team to an 84-78 victory. Broome countered with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and a block before fouling out.

Here’s a look at how they stack up against one another:

Cooper Flagg, Duke

The hype began before the nation’s top-ranked recruit stepped foot on campus. And it was fueled by none other than LeBron James, who after facing the then 17-year-old freshman at a camp preparing Team USA for last summer’s Olympics, proclaimed that “Cooper Flagg (is) going to be a big-time player.”

Although Flagg is a different kind of talent than another former Duke phenom, Zion Williamson, the expectations were just as high. It’s hard to imagine anyone living up to that standard. 

But somehow, Flagg has exceeded them.

Duke’s freshman star is a stat-sheet stuffer, ranking among the top 10 in the ACC in scoring (19.6 ppg), rebounds (7.5), assists (4.2), steals (2.4), blocks (1.2) and field goal percentage (.497).  He’s scored 20 or more points 14 times and set an ACC freshman record with 42 points (on 11-of-14 shooting, 4-of-6 3-pointers and 16-of-17 free throws) in an 86-78 win against Notre Dame on Jan. 11.

The 6-foot-9 guard is the player the Blue Devils turn to in key situations and has shown an ability to take over games in key situations. But he’s also remarkably unselfish, with an innate knack for knowing what his team needs him to do and when it needs him to do it.

Johni Broome, Auburn

Broome is the opposite of Flagg in virtually every way possible. He’s a fifth-year senior who started his career as a lightly recruited prospect at Morehead State in the Ohio Valley Conference. He’s more physically mature at 6-10, 240 pounds. He’s a dominating low post presence with a reputation for being one of the nation’s best, most relentless rebounders.

And yet, his stat line is incredibly similar to his primary Wooden Award rival.

The Tigers’ star is averaging 18 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 50.4% from the floor. And he’s put up those numbers despite dealing with injuries to his ankle and shoulder in mid-January.

“You see what type of numbers he puts up. He’s one of the best players on the best team in the country,” Auburn teammate Chaney Johnson said of Broome. “A double-double is normal for him. I’ve been saying it: National Player of the Year. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get it.”

Broome remains the underdog in that conversation. But if there’s one thing he has going for him over Flagg, it’s the competition his team plays night-in and night-out in the SEC compared to what Duke faces in the ACC. Even though the Blue Devils won their head-to-head matchup as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.

Brett Friedlander

Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.